How to Survive Being Five
by toothlesslover12
Summary: Everyone has their own theory on how Astrid and Hiccup felt towards each other before the movie. This is mine. Be aware they five, as the title suggests. The story starts when Astrid finds out the her father might die very soon, and no one seems to care. Hiccup is having troubles with Snotlout and to make things worse, he keeps having these odd dreams! What is going on? Do not own.
1. Best Friends

Chapter One

He couldn't stand it any longer. He just couldn't. All Snotlout ever did was make fun of him! That was it. Hiccup couldn't stand it. The cut on his arm proved that it was more than just verbal bullying. It was physical too. "Just because I'm little," he mumbled. He ran a hand through his auburn hair, and started up the steps to his house. To little five year old him, it seemed like the stairway to Valhalla, long and steep, and he almost always tripped on his long vest, which was about six sizes too big for him, on the way up.

"Hiccup, wait up!" somebody called from behind him.

He spun around and stepped on his vest, which caused him to fall pretty hardly onto his bottom. A blonde girl his age walked up to him, her two braids swaying as she walked. "Oh, hey Astrid," he mumbled. She was his only good friend, and he sort of had a crush on her. (And I'm sure we all know how that feels at five. VERY CONFUSING!)

Astrid giggled. She noticed the blush that he creeped over Hiccup's face. He didn't know, but she felt the same way he did. "Was Snotlout bothering you again?" She sat next to him.

"Yes, but it's nothing." Hiccup lied. Since his mother's death, about a year and a half ago, (which he still hadn't gotten over), Snotlout had become meaner than ever, and Hiccup couldn't stand it. The image of his mom being carried by that Nightmare away from him forever. It had been the worst day of his life, and a very scaring one at that.

Astrid looked at her friend and gave him a hug. "He's just a big bully. Don't let him bother you."

Hiccup sniffed. Tears had started to run down his cheeks, but he turned his head away so Astrid couldn't see. Though they were both only five years old, it was still embarrassing, because he felt sure that Astrid hadn't cried since she was like, two, and Vikings weren't supposed to cry at all. "Thanks, but it does. All he ever does is tease me! About my size, strength, my want to work in Gobber's shop, my mo…" Here he broke down.

Astrid pulled away, confused, sad, wanting to help but not knowing how. "Your mom?"

Hiccup nodded. "Why does he do that more than anything else?"

Astrid put her hands on her hips and stared at Hiccup. She said in her toughest voice possible, "Snotlout's just a big bully, and if you let him get to you, he'll realize it, and will continue to tease you."

Hiccup looked at his friend. "How do you know that?"

Astrid smiled. "My mom told me so, and I might end up in the same boat as you soon." A sad look crossed her face.

"What do you mean?"

"My dad was attacked by a Deadly Nadder during the last attack, and the poison isn't going away. It's just getting worse and my daddy's getting weaker." She looked at him, a tear or two running down her face. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" she pleaded.

"No never."

Astrid managed a smile. "Thanks," then to change the subject she said, "I was watching you in the shop earlier."

Hiccup blushed. "You were?"

"Yep. Are you okay after your little accident?"

Hiccup cheeks turned bright red. "Yeah, my nose stills hurts a little, but I'm fine." Earlier, he had been playing around the blacksmith shop, looking at all of the different tools. They fascinated him. He had picked up the one that Gobber used to pull things out of the fire with, and had been goofing off with it. He had dropped it and hit his nose fairly hard too. Just thinking that Astrid had seen it was highly embarrassing. "So you saw that?"

"Yeah, it must have hurt a lot, but I'm glad you're okay." Then she smiled mischievously. "I have to admit though, it was kind of funny too."

Hiccup glared at her, but it was only for a few seconds. He was scared one wrong move on his part would cost him his best friend.

Astrid lightly punched him on the shoulder. "See you later Blacksmith Boy!" She ran off laughing.

Hiccup sighed. Astrid was a great friend, but she never stayed around for long. Her mom always wanted her home for something, like cooking, (which she had insisted she was hopeless at), or weaponry practice. He slowly trudged up the stairway to his house.

Pushing open the door, he saw that his father was sitting in a big wooden chair, carving as wooden duck. Since his mother's death, Stoick, his dad, had taken to wood carving, ducks especially, when he wasn't out doing the things a Viking chief had to do. "Dad?"

Stoick looked up. "I busy. Go to your room."

Hiccup walked inside sadly. His father didn't care about him anymore, since his mom's death. That one day had messed up everything for the young Viking. He flopped down on his bed, which was in the loft part of the house and went to sleep.

He dreamed about his mom, and Astrid, and having the courage to punch Snotlout in the face on his own. But another thing crept into his dreams. A huge black dragon, with a broken tail, which seemed to be pleading for help. This dream had been happening for the past couple of nights, but Hiccup had taken no real notice to it. He normally never remembered what he dreamed anyways. It was just a dream after all.

Astrid had gone home to help with supper, but her mother didn't need any help so she sat next to her father and told him about her day. He would smile and nod, but never said much, for it hurt for him to do much of anything.

"Hiccup and I were talking this afternoon, and I told him about you Daddy? Was that okay?"

Her father cupped a hand around her cheek and nodded. He managed a faint, "How is Hiccup?"

Astrid smiled. At least her father approved of her friendship with him. Her mother resented the boy because he was so small and weak. Of course it didn't matter to Astrid. "He's fine Daddy."

He father nodded again and fell asleep. Astrid hoped he would get well soon, really soon. She laid her head on his chest and whispered, "Don't die Daddy, I love you."


	2. The Fight

The next day, Hiccup, Astrid, and four other kids, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut, were out in the woods playing around. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were swinging from branch to branch. Snotlout was throwing apples at Fishlegs, who was trying to hide behind a bunch of rocks. It was not working. Astrid was sitting at the top of the same tree staring at the sky. She kept trying to push away the horrible news that Gothi, the healer, had brought that morning. Her daddy only had about three days left to live. Hiccup was sitting at the base of the tree, trying to sketch the dragon from his dreams. It had been haunting him for days, and even Astrid didn't know about it.

He knew it had big rectangular eyes, and a long tail. It was black and, well, not deadly looking, like he normally saw dragons. There was a friendly air about it. Why would that be? He was attempting to sketch its head, when Snotlout threw an apple his way. It landed on his head, causing his hand to slip. A long line went across his piece of parchment. He looked up, to see Snotlout laughing. "Snotlout, you made me mess up my picture."

Snotlout jumped down, still laughing loudly and meanly. "It's just a drawing, and you can't draw to save your life." He sneered. He pulled Hiccup pencil and drawing out of his hands. "Let me see those." He broke the pencil in two. "Opps, sorry Useless." Then he looked at the drawing. "What is this, a dragon? Why would draw a dragon, and where's its head? Huh?"

Hiccup tried to get his picture back, but Snotlout pulled it away. "I'm not done Snotlout, give it back!" he demanded.

Snotlout snickered. "Hey guys," he called to the twins, who had taken to trying to toss each other out of the tree. "Did you here that? He's only five, and he thinks that being the heir means he can already boss us around!"

"I do not!"

Ruffnut succeeded in tossing her brother out of the tree. "We're five too you know Snotlout."

"Whatever, Ruff."

Hiccup stood up and brushed himself off. "Snotlout, please may I have my drawing back?"

Snotlout looked at him and gave him a forced smile. "Sure, Useless." He crumpled it up, threw it at Hiccup and stomped off, the twins on his heels. Fishlegs gave Hiccup a weak smile, and followed them.

Hiccup unrumpled the picture and smoothed it out as best as he could.

Astrid came down, looked at him and said, "Be right back."

"Okay."

Astrid raced off after the other four kids. "Hey! Wait up!"

Snotlout turned to look at her. "What?"

Astrid put her hands on her hips, (she never did grow out of that), and glared at him. "You have no right to be mean to Hiccup like that. What did he ever do to you?"

Snotlout poked her in the ribs. "Well, he's small, weak, likes to draw, works with Gobber, who on earth would want to work with him!?"

Astrid continued to glare at him. "What's wrong with that?"

"Everything!"

"There's nothing wrong with that, and there's nothing wrong with Hiccup! Leave him alone! You're just a big bully Snotlout and get this, NO ONE LIKES YOU!" Astrid yelled. She tried to push him over, but failed.

Snotlout pushed her down instead. "See you later Astrid." He turned to leave, but came back. "Oh, and for that, I hope your dad never recovers."

Astrid stood up. "My dad is going to be fine, Gothi said so." Astrid glared at him, and raced back to Hiccup. "I hate Snotlout," she grumbled.

Hiccup looked up. He had finished his drawing the best he could with a messed up paper. Astrid sat next to him. "What type of dragon is it?"

Hiccup replied, "I don't know. It keeps showing up in my dreams and stuff. I think he's cool."

"You made him look friendly. That can't be right."

"That's how he looks in my dreams. I don't know why. It's just a dream anyway."

Astrid ran he finger along the dragon's wings. "I heard my mom say something about a black dragon called a Night Fury. Nobody's ever killed one before. Maybe this is one." She tapped his drawing.

"But I wouldn't know what one looked like, so how would I be able to dream about one."

"Don't know Hiccup." She got up. "If I stay out to late my mom will be mad. See you later." She waved as she walked off.

Hiccup sighed, got up, and went home.

That night, the dreams were more vivid than before. He was riding the dragon! He woke up with a start. Riding a dragon!? That was ridiculous! What was going on in his dreams!?


	3. The Gift

Chapter Three

In three days' time, as Gothi had said, Astrid's father was gone. It all happened very suddenly. Astrid had woken up to the sound of her mother sobbing, and wandering into the bigger room of the house. "Mom, what's wrong? Is Daddy okay?"

Mrs. Hofferson only managed to shake her head.

Astrid didn't stay around to hear what she knew her mother would tell her, her father was dead. Astrid knew it. She ran out the door, tears streaming down her face. She needed to talk to someone who would listen, someone who would understand and care, someone who would try to comfort her and help her to feel better. Only one person came to mind, and that was Hiccup. She started the long slow trek to his house. While she walked her mind drifted to a few weeks ago, before the attack where her father had been poisoned.

_ Mr. Hofferson picked up his daughter and swung her around as soon as she walked in the door. "How's my girl?" he asked her._

_ Astrid giggled. "I'm good Daddy."_

_ He set her down and ruffled her hair. "Wonderful. Now I have a question. I was talking to your mother, and we figure that it's time for you to have a weapon of your own. Is there a certain kind you would like?"_

_ Astrid thought a moment. "An axe! That's my favorite!"_

Present day Astrid sighed. Without her father to assure her mother that it would be okay, she would have to wait years to get her weapon.

She had made it to the Haddock's door, and was about to knock when Hiccup opened it. "Oh, hey Astrid. What are you doing here?"

She sniffed. "Hiccup can we talk?"

"Sure."

"In the woods, away from the village?"

Hiccup looked puzzled, but agreed. The two walked into the forest and began to talk. Hiccup had been wondering why Astrid wouldn't look straight at him and then saw that she had tears stains on her cheeks. "Were you crying?"

She sniffed again. "Yes."

"Why?"

Astrid looked at him and he immediately saw she was still crying, and hard too. She tried to tell him what had happened that morning but could only manage, "Daddy…" before breaking into tears, flinging her arms around him, and leaving him entirely confused about what to do.

"Your dad… died?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded and pulled away. "Yeah, and I wanted to talk to you 'cause you know how I feel. What do I do? Is my mom gonna start acting like your dad, and hating me?"

"Hopefully not."

Astrid tried to smile. "How did you feel when your mom died?"

"I felt horrible. It was all I could think about, and just when I thought I was okay, Snotlout would say something."

Astrid wiped away a tear. "Thanks Hiccup, you're the best."

Hiccup smiled. "Anything else?"

Astrid thought a moment. "Do you think you could get Gobber to make me an axe? My daddy promised me that he would, but now…"

Hiccup gave her a quick hug. "I'll see what I can do."

Later that day, Hiccup was talking to Gobber about seeing what he could do around the shop, when he remembered Astrid's request. "Gobber do you think I could make someone an axe?"

"Who?"

"Astrid, she wanted one, and her dad said he would get her one, but he well, ya know. So can I? She's my bestest friend in the whole world and she looked so sad earlier today! Please Gobber please!" Hiccup pleaded. His big green eyes held a hopeful glimmer.

Gobber smiled. "Hiccup, lad, I think you're a bit young for this."

"For what, making an axe? I can do it!"

Gibber laughed to himself. "That, and well, other things, lad. You know, Astrid and you."

"What about it? What does that have to do with the fact that I want to make her an axe?" Hiccup wondered.

"How would you describe your friend?"

"She's pretty, kind, and she's got eh bluest eyes in the world, "Hiccup's eyes began to glaze over, and Gobber stopped him.

"Exactly my point, too young."

"What point!? I don't get it! Too young for what?!"

Gobber chuckled, "You can make the axe lad, but be careful. I've taught you enough to for you to know what to do. I have to go fix a ship, bye." He turned and left.

Hiccup began to work on his present for Astrid. He poured the melted metal in a mold and let it cool. This required patience, something he had little of. He fell asleep, but when he woke, it was cool. Then he use a hammer to make sure it ended up in the right shape. He took a trip to the forest to find a stick to use for a handle. He carved it and was going to put the blade on it, when he realized that he didn't know how. So much for knowing everything he would need to. He just decided to use rope. Hiccup climbed onto a stool and tried to tie the two pieces together. In the end he succeeded, but once he finished, the stool tipped, and he and the axe feel onto the floor. The shelf of tools above him was hit, and fell. "Great," he muttered. "I'll have to fix that later."

He picked up his creation, (with much difficulty), and walked outside. On his was to Astrid's he picked a flower, as part of the gift. He also put the axe in the woods to hide it. He got to her house and knocked on her door. She answered it. "Hey."

"Hey, why are you here?"

Hiccup grabbed her hand and took her to the forest, where he had hidden the axe. He held out the flower. "This is for you."

Astrid blushed, and smiled. "Thanks. You didn't have…"

Hiccup pulled the axe out from behind a tree. "And so is this."

Astrid took it from him and gasped. It was heavy, and she had to hunch over a little bit t hold it. "Me?"

"Yes, I had some spare time and…"

Hiccup never finished. Astrid set the weapon down and threw her arms around him. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Hiccup blushed. "Well…"

"ASTRID!" Someone called.

"That's my mom, I have to go." Astrid bent over to pick up her axe, but stopped short. She gave Hiccup a quick kiss on the cheek, and then picked it up. Then she ran off, or tried to run, the axe was heavy.

Hiccup would have stood there for a while, trying to remember his own name, but a black streak flashed in front of him. What on earth?


	4. Sorrow and Surprises

Chapter Four  
Weeks passed and Hiccup did not see much of his mysterious black blur of a friend. He and Astrid were just fine though, until one day….  
"Astrid, I don't want you to see that boy anymore, he is such a HORRIBLE influence on you." Astrid's mom told her.  
Astrid was horrified. "What?! But Mama, he's my best friend ever! You can't just make him go away!"  
"I just don't think that you should spend time with someone who is weak, clumsy, and can't lift a hammer to save his life."  
"MOM!"  
"NO buts, Astrid. I will let you tell him, but then you must come right back here."  
Astrid nodded reluctantly and ran the whole way to Hiccup's house. She knocked on his door and when no one answered she just barged in. "HICCUP, HICCUP! I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU NOW! WHERE ARE YOU?" She ran up the stairs. Then she saw that he was in bed, still sleeping. She shook him awake, whispering now. "Wake up, I've got to talk to you."  
He sat up, dazed. "Huh, Astrid what are you doing here? And why are you waking me up?"  
"I've got to tell you something, and it's really important!"  
"Well my sleep is important too."  
"Not as important as this is."  
"As what is?"  
"What I'm going to tell you! Listen, my mom doesn't like you, and my daddy did. Now that he's gone, I don't get my way hardly ever anymore. So since she hates you and thinks you are, weak, clumsy, and altogether not fit to be a Viking, she says that I'm not allowed to hang out with you anymore! I tried to tell her that you weren't bad at all but she wouldn't listen and…" Astrid broke into tears. "I already lost my daddy Hiccup, I can't lose you too!" She threw her arms around him.  
Hiccup let what had just happened sink in. It was awful. Without Astrid, he would have no one at all. Maybe they could still be friends, but her mom would watch for that, and they would get caught. He knew that and so did she. A tear ran down his face too. "Maybe you could still change her mind?"  
"No, she doesn't change he mind that easily, ever." Astrid pulled away, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "I have to go home. She'll be mad if I stay too long." She turned away, but then turned back, kissed him on the cheek, and after that ran down the stairs, probably never to run back up them again.  
It was later that day and Hiccup was walking through the woods, alone. He was still in shock about that morning and was trying to figure out how he could change Mrs. Hofferson's mind.  
Suddenly, the blur jumped out of a bush. Hiccup jumped back, startled. In front of him, growling, stood a baby dragon. It was pure black, with the biggest eyes of any dragon he had ever seen. Was it a Night Fury?  
"Hi there," he said, taking a step back. Did this thing want to kill him?  
It growled and leapt scratching him on the arm. Hiccup grabbed him arm and looked to where it had jumped. It was gone, thank Thor. He hoped he would never see it again.  
Three months had gone by and Hiccup had been getting along just fine. The sad thing was, as time went by Astrid started to become mean to him, just like ever one else. He knew her mother had made her that way, and it made him sad. Astrid's mother was forcing her into a life that Hiccup knew she hadn't planned on. A life where is she wasn't always the best, she would be shunned, as he was. Hiccup hoped that one day things would go back to the way they had once been, but he knew that that would probably never happen.


	5. Why Toothless Was Needed

Chapter Five

"So I'm sorry about all those years I acted like a jerk and was mean. My mom told me if I didn't she would do something to you and I did not want that to happen." Astrid said.

"That's okay." Hiccup replied, draping an arm around her shoulder.

She smiled. "Now, I want you to tell me how you knew about Toothless. You do remember that drawing of him don't you?"

"Yes, about that…"

"Tell me."

"Well, Astrid, it was really weird. I kept having these dreams about him. I thought I was going crazy, so I didn't tell anyone."

She gave him a look. "You could have told me. I wouldn't have said you were crazy."

Hiccup smiled at her. "Well, the day you told me about not being allowed to hang out with me anymore, I took a walk. As I was walking, this thing jumped out at me. It was a dragon, black as night, and moving at the speed of lightning. It was small, so I knew it was a baby. It jumped up, scratched my arm and ran away."

"That's where that scar came from."

Hiccup nodded and pulled her close. "Yeah, and when I caught Toothless, we stared at each other for a minute. We recognized each other. I guess if I hadn't seen him before I would have killed him, and then I wouldn't be telling you all of this."

She smiled and kissed him. "Somewhere along the way we would have gotten back together, because love always wins." She whispered, "I love you Dragon Trainer."

Hiccup held her tight and kissed her forehead. He couldn't argue with that.


End file.
